FAMILIES of BAE Systems staff living in Saudi Arabia are being advised to return home to Britain amid security fears in the Middle East.

Aerospace workers are based in the city of Riyadh and six air bases across the country, providing technical support and maintenance for Tornado and Hawk military planes and minesweeper ships used by the Royal Saudi Air Force.

Mike Sweeney, a spokesman for BAE Systems, which has bases in Samlesbury and Warton, said many were former RAF servicemen. Around 2,000 of the firm's 4,800 staff there are British, with Saudis and Australians making up the total.

He said: "We are recommending to employees that they send their dependants home. Some have taken this up and some have not. It's difficult to tell because many staff are coming home for the holidays and will make their decision while on holiday.

"We hope staff will repatriate their dependants, but it is their decision.

"There are around 1,600 dependants, but we don't have figures for people from Lancashire."

He said some media reports of a flood of workers and families returning home were 'absolutely irresponsible'.

He added: "Some employees have handed in their notice, but there is also a turnover of staff because they have contracts of two or three years. It's wrong to suggest an exodus. They are essential workers and we hope they will remain with us."

The BAE work, called the Al Yamamah Project, has run since the 1980s and the firm has a relationship with Saudi Arabia going back 30 years.